Remember you can also post reports at any time to Twitter which Environment Canada follow. Post report with Hashtag. #nsstorm, #nbstorm, #pestorm and #nlwx. in your tweet. If I receive info from EC and what they will be looking for I will pass it along to you. Remember to take your readings at the top of each hour.

Due to the pending storm on Sunday through to Monday the CanWarn System has been activated and will be using the MAVCOM system from 1200 to 2359 on Sunday. Therefore the TARC Newbie Round Table has been cancelled for Sunday January 20th.

The Round Table will be back on January 27th. We will be talking DMR that night with Robert VE1RMJ along with Martin VE1KLR and Kevin VE1KEV providing their experience and expertise to the subject.

Everyone stay safe over the weekend during the storm and we will talk to you on the 27th.

Many who attended last year enjoyed the presentation by Cory Sickles WA3UVV on Fusion Radio. We will be contacting Cory again this year to see if he will attend with a updated presentation on Fusion Radio. We are asking amateurs in the Maritimes who have purchased Fusion Radios in the past year to let us know so we can pass this information along to him so that he may come up here again.

Email me at jimve1jbl@gmail.com within the next couple of days and let me know which fusion radio you purchased and how many you now have. Once we have this information it will be added to the letter which will be sent to Cory.

The WestCumb ARC will be purchasing at least one Fusion radio as a grand prize for this year’s event. We will be contacting all the local clubs looking for gift cards and prizes again this year as this went over very well last year. Again this year the club will purchase a PEI Bridge Pass as a draw for hams of PEI.

FYI, I have recently purchased a Fusion Radio and have enjoyed the time on the radio and speaking to the many local amateurs and other hams across Canada and around the world.

Hope to hear from you and also see many of you at this years SMART.

A new webpage has been started for this year’s SMART and as I get more information I will add it to the site. I am still working on the Registration form so please DO NOT use it at this time.

Local radio enthusiasts can learn some tricks of the trade at a round-table session.

The Truro Amateur Radio Club is restarting the weekly Sunday sessions on Jan. 13 that allow new operators to voice questions over the air to their more experienced counterparts elsewhere – and gain from their expertise.

“If you’re interested in com­municating across town, across the country or around the world, you can do so from your home relatively easily and it’s a great way to meet new people over the airwaves,” said TARC president Dave Hull. “It’s neat to be able to give back to the community in the event of an emergency, that ham radio operators over the years have played pivotal roles in pro­viding communications during disasters.”

Hull said radio operators pro­vided communication during the 2018 California wildfires, when normal methods were down.

TARC held its Exercise Hand­shake drill on Dec. 25. Held the last Tuesday of every month, it aims to test radio emergency response systems.

Messages are relayed across the Maritimes using repeaters, which are radio masts erected on high points that can repeat signals on a different frequency. They allow operators in Truro to communi­cate with those in neighbouring provinces, vastly expanding their range, which would otherwise only be about 10 or 12 km locally.

Amateur radio operators can also beam messages up to relay satellites in orbit when talking to clubs around the world. One club in Prince Edward Island even talked with astronauts on the International Space Station.

TARC finished 10th out of 32 clubs in their category during the June 2018 Field Day competition, which involved 3,000 clubs from across North America. Truro was also the first out of three Canadian teams in their category.

“With the repeater systems around here, you can literally talk to the world, once you figure out how to get there,” said Hull. “It just makes the hobby that much more enjoyable and easier to get involved with.”

He said new club members can join in on the action fairly cheaply, by borrowing a radio set while they learn how to use them. TARC will also help novices obtain their oper­ating license.

For those wishing to buy, Hull said the cheapest portable radio sets cost just $50 or so, while more advanced systems can sell for thousands of dollars.

“Just bring yourself,” Hull said to anyone thinking of joining. Newcomers can attend regular club meetings on the second Mon­day of the month starting at 7 p.m. at 37 Pictou Road in Bible Hill

The Jan. 13 on-air round-table will start at 9 p.m. and people can participate at home by calling in on their radio sets.

For more information, visit http://truroamateurradioclub.ca or the Truro Amateur Radio Club’s Facebook page.

Rumour has it that Exercise Handshake will still be taking place, tomorrow as usual. I will not be at the EMO Bldg to let anyone into the club room, Bruce has also indicated via email that he will not be there either.
If Exercise Handshake happens and you wish to participate please do so from home.